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Guardiola explains his reaction to Haaland’s 95-minute winner

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 06, 2022

THE NATION

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola hailed his “exceptional” players after they beat Fulham 2-1 – despite playing with ten men for 65 minutes.

Joao Cancelo was sent-off as Andreas Perieira’s penalty equalised a Julian Alvarez goal.
 

Erling Haaland then gave City the win with a penalty in the fifth minute of stoppage time – a result which sees Guardiola’s men leapfrog Arsenal at the top of the Premier League for 24 hours at least.

“Everyone was exceptional. 65 minutes against Fulham to play the way we played, the moment of my period in Manchester by far, the score at the end and the celebrations with our people. We don’t win the Premier League today, of course, but this moment makes sense of our jobs. All of us. Seeing the faces of our crowd. Making the pitch walk was really good.” said Pep Guardiola

“The penalty was not the best penalty I’ve seen in my life but I say he hit it strong. Always I say about Riyad. If you do soft to one side it’s 50/50, if it’s strong it’s 75/25. Leno, I know him from Germany, an incredible saver of penalties, a really good one. Finish good, today the destiny at the end looks like everything was against us, we could do it.”

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Road to Qatar: Timeline and major milestones as 2022 World Cup nears kick off

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 05, 2022

THE NATION

The road to Qatar 2022, arguably the most controversial men’s FIFA World Cup in the history of the competition.

From the outset Qatar’s World Cup journey has been subjected to heavy international scrutiny and corruption allegations, while the country’s treatment of migrant workers and its criminalization of LGBTQ+ relations have also been in the spotlight.
 

Here is a timeline of events and major milestones since Qatar won the bid to host the 2022 World Cup.

May, 2010 – Qatar present bid to former FIFA President, Sepp Blatter, with the backing of France legend, Zinedine Zidane.

December, 2010 – Blatter, announces Qatar 2022 as the winning bid, for the Gulf state to become the first country in the Middle East to win the hosting rights of the FIFA World Cup.

May, 2011 – Former FIFA vice-president, Jack Warner, who was suspended due to an ongoing corruption investigation, leaks a classified FIFA email alleging Qatar bribed officials in order to secure the 2022 World Cup hosting rights.

2013 – A number of reports including one by Amnesty International reveal wide spread abuse of migrant workers in Qatar’s construction sector, all working under the Kafala system.

2015 – The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland starts criminal proceedings against top FIFA officials for criminal mismanagement and money laundering in connection with the allocation of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.
 

2015 – FIFA announce a change to the timing of the 2022 World Cup due to the extreme temperatures in Qatar in the summertime.

2017 – Construction on the newly renovated Khalifa International Stadium finishes as it becomes the first tournament-ready venue for Qatar 2022.

2019 – Qatar sets a new world record in turfing the Al Wakrah Stadium, one of the venues for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

2019 – Parts of Qatar’s new metro service open to the public.

2019 – First glimpse of Sudan-born Dr. Saud Abdulaziz Abdul Ghani’s outdoor cooling technologies for FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.

2019 – Qatar hosts the 2019 World Athletics Championships.

2019 – Qatar hosts the 2019 FIFA Club World Cup.

2020 – Qatar hosts AFC Champions League 2020 matches.

2021 – Qatar hosts the 2020 FIFA Club World Cup.

2021 – Qatar hosts the 2021 FIFA Arab Cup.

2021 – David Beckham signs a deal with Qatar’s Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy to become a Qatar 2022 ambassador.

2021 – Qatar 2022 venue Stadium 974 became the first fully demountable stadium in the history of international football’s showpiece tournament upon its competition.

2022 – Lusail Stadium, the setting for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 opening ceremony and final is the last stadium to be completed.

2022 – Several human rights organizations, including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, call on FIFA president Gianni Infantino to set up a compensation fund for families of workers who died in the build-up to the World Cup.

2022 – Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini were acquitted on charges of defrauding FIFA by a Swiss criminal court.

2022 – Several World Cup captains including England captain, Harry Kane, announce they will wear an anti-discrimination armband at Qatar 2022.

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World Cup the test of Qatar’s expensive bid to develop homegrown talent

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 05, 2022

THE NATION

When Qatar play Ecuador in the World Cup showpiece opener on Nov. 20, an 18-year, billion dollar national project to build a respectable – and possibly competitive – national squad will be put to the test.

Victory in that opening match, the team’s first appearance at global soccer’s showpiece event, would give Qatar vital points and the momentum needed to make it through to the last 16.
 

Most of Qatar’s World Cup side – the majority of whom are nationals and expatriates born, raised and naturalised in Qatar – were scouted as kids and came up through the ranks of the $1.3 billion Aspire Academy.

Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al-Thani, brother of Qatar’s ruling emir, established Aspire in 2004 to develop homegrown players — six years before Qatar’s national team automatically qualified for the 2022 World Cup when it was named host country.

Many of the side – including star duo Akram Afif and top-scorer Almoez Ali – have been playing together under Spanish-born coach Felix Sanchez since 2014, when he led them as an Under-19 Qatari side to the AFC youth championship title.

In Qatar, Sanchez is credited with instilling a distinctly Spanish style of “one touch, small pass, good teamwork, possession-based play”, said Ahmed Hashim, editor of Qatar Football Live, a twitter channel.

Since June, Sanchez has taken Qatar’s players to training camps in Spain and Austria.

They emerged to play a string of friendlies in September, losing to Canada and Croatia’s Under-23’s and drawing with Chile and, in recent weeks, winning friendlies against Nicaragua, Guatemala and Honduras.

The mixed performance suggests the Gulf Arab state are no heavyweights – the team might not stand a chance against their other World Cup Group A opponents Senegal and the Netherlands.

But the Qatari side have surprised in the past, most famously when they won the Asian Cup in 2019 after a dramatic 3-1 final win over Japan and a 4-0 thrashing of tournament hosts United Arab Emirates in the semi-finals.

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Welsh dragon ready to roar after lengthy World Cup absence

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 05, 2022

THE NATION

Wales’ preparations for their first World Cup in 64 years were dogged by poor form and injuries but after qualifying confidently they will be champing at the bit to get to Qatar where their knockout hopes could hinge on a “Battle of Britain”.

Rob Page’s side made the World Cup via the playoffs, overcoming Austria and Ukraine to reach the global showpiece tournament for the first time since 1958.
 

That followed a group-stage campaign in which they finished second behind Belgium after suffering a solitary defeat in eight matches.

While the wheels came off after they booked their spot in Qatar — with four defeats in five games ensuring they dropped out of the top tier of the Nations League — Wales will head to tournament targeting at least the last 16.

After winnable games against the United States and Iran, they face a familiar enemy, England, in their final Group B match but there will be no trepidation.

Having played Belgium, only recently deposed from the top of the FIFA rankings, three times in the last 12 months, losing once, Wales know they are no pushovers for the top sides.

And there will be plenty of fire in the Welsh Dragon after such a lengthy absence from the tournament.

Welsh dragon ready to roar after lengthy World Cup absence
 

There have been 15 World Cups since Wales last reached the finals and the last goal they conceded at the tournament was scored by a 17-year-old Pele, the great Brazilian’s first in the competition.

Wales’ qualification for Qatar is testament to the excellent work of Page, who initially took charge of the team on an interim basis when then-manager Ryan Giggs was arrested in November, 2020.

The former defender, who won 41 caps for Wales, led them to the last 16 at Euro 2020 before sealing their World Cup qualification and earning a four-year contract.

Yet it has not been all plain sailing for Page, who has now gone five matches without a victory and had his preparations plagued by injuries to key players including Aaron Ramsey, Joe Allen, Ben Davies and Harry Wilson.

There are also question marks over the form of captain Gareth Bale since he joined Major League Soccer side Los Angeles FC, perhaps the last stop in a career that seems to be winding towards its close.
 

THE NATION